Just a Dream
by Nobility
Summary: Spoilers for episode 64. Kai doesn't get bad dreams.


Kai doesn't normally have bad dreams, or at least, he doesn't think he does. Sometimes he gets vague premonitions, or a strange scenario that, if he thinks about it, probably represents some deep, dark anxiety he'd been battling that day. Sometimes he'd even wake up from a dream in a cold sweat, but only after a tense chase dream.

On the whole, though, Kai doesn't have bad, bad dreams, and he certainly isn't _haunted_ by any of them. Not in his sleep, at least. But lately, there has been… something… that's gnawed at him.

 _He's on temple grounds, and Nya is there, but she's not really there. Her eyes are glowing green and she's adorned in a manner of dress she normally wouldn't be caught dead in. Dead-_

It makes him feel sick to his stomach, in a way no other dream has.

He doesn't worry about his sister all that much either- well, not in the way most people assume. Sure, he has concerns for her, but he knows his sister is too strong and too smart to fall prey to any old danger, even the super-powered dangers they all face on a daily basis these days. Heck, ever since she got her elemental powers, Kai has been even less afraid for her, feeling pride knowing that his little sister who could keep up with him powerless now has the right and strength to officially stand side by side with him. He knows her too well to feel fear-

 _So much had happened after he was captured, floating around in that endless abyss, lost to his own self and to his dreams that were sweet nothings. Now she's captured and forced into a fake marriage that will doom the world and there's nothing she can do about it, and there's nothing HE can do about it because he's so freaking useless, he can't protect his baby sister why why why-_

Kai doesn't dwell on fear of his own failings much anymore. When his father passed away, sure, Kai often spent hours in the day wallowing in his own nightmares. Grief and fear for the future… how would a little orphan boy take care of his orphan sister in as remote and small a town as his own? But somehow, he pulled through, and as day by day wore on, he learned to overcome his fears and control them. He wasn't bothered by failure anymore, they were just a normal part of growing up

 _She's dead. She's dead. She's dead because that stupid crackshot misjudged his target and hit HER along with Nadakhan. It's all over her now, there's no way to get it off, and she's already collapsed on the floor struggling to breathe. Jay is there, of course, holding her as tight as he can, as if he could onto her lifeforce all on his own. She's weak, so weak, but she tries to brush it off, she can't even see the other ninja and tries to tell Jay to be strong. It's all an act, though, Kai can see- there's disappointment in her eyes, frustration at her own failure and sadness at having to see the man she loves break down in front of her. She's in pain, so much pain, he can't bear to approach her right now…_

 _And she dies._

 _She lowers her head and she's no more. She doesn't speak, doesn't breathe. She's dead, dead and gone, lost forever, just like mom did after she gave birth to her, just like dad…_

 _and Kai is alone. So alone. He failed. He couldn't protect his baby sister, couldn't even say goodbye to her, and nothing will ever change that. Jay is cradling her in his arms, making the most pitiful noises a human being could possibly make, but that's more than Kai can muster now, because he is so utterly devoid of strength he can't possibly do anything but sob into his hands because he failed she's dead she's dead SHE'SDEAD_

Kai doesn't normally get bad dreams. And something tells him these are more than just bad dreams.

He can see it in their eyes. The way Nya and Jay occasionally stop and stare at each other, when they're not being sickeningly sweet. Sometimes Jay just stops, and looks at her, looks at her neck, not in any perverted way, but just in a… sad way, like he's counting every breath she takes because he's afraid she's going to stop. Or it's the way Nya will put her hand to her chest and scratch a phantom itch, or fumble an invisible tie, not in a nervous way like a habit, but more like a spot check. A confirmation that something that shouldn't be there isn't there, and when she catches Kai or Jay watching her do this, her eyes light up with fear- not shame, _fear_ \- like she thinks they've seen something they were never supposed too.

 _And Jay and Nya both know. They both know they're hiding something, possibly even between them, that affects them both._

Kai tries to brush it all off. After all, he's not one to give into fear or insecurity, and he trusts Nya.

But he is a big brother, and right now, he couldn't be more afraid for her… he just doesn't understand _why._


End file.
